Well done to all those who attempted/completed their Alpine Classic rides last Saturday. Nice to bump into you hamishm at the start, and Gerry.M at Omeo. Winds up high and out in the open were somewhat warm (hot?) and strong. But not too bad overall.

There may have been a problem with the timing mat at the finish, as some riders were receiving calls/texts from Audax much later in the day to confirm that they had finished and were safe.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a large group of over 100 riders when I lined up on Saturday morning at 6.20am for the ACE 250km. A great roll out to Harrietville, with almost the whole 100 following two riders up front who where setting a hectic pace but whom seemed happy to do the pace making. Hit the base of the hill and about a dozen riders headed off in front of me, which was a nice knowing there were riders up front somewhere and the standard of the ride overall was relatively high. I caught a few later, but many stayed well in front. 1.44 up Hotham (my second best time) and then a 10min break at Dinner Plain. Teamed up with 4 riders for the ride down to Omeo with another 10min break there. Then teamed up with 2 of the same riders, plus another 3 (total 6) for the ride to Anglers Rest. After that it was every man for himself. I rode my second best time up the back of falls despite the head winds I encountered across the top (still riding on my own). Another 10min break at Falls Creek, then over to Tawonga. It has been warm since Omeo, but not uncomfortably hot, but the hills and warmth had taken some toll already and I knew I was suffering dehydration. I climbed Tawongo in a personal worst over 40mins, struggling with the heat at that stage. Solo decent of Tawonga and then rode to the finish for an elapsed time of 10hrs 35mins. A bite to eat and swim in the river and I felt 100%, and then drove back to Melbourne that night. Felt good Sunday morning and was able to train that day. The people I rode with a various stages all agreed the ride was a lot of fun to Say What corner. After that, it all became a bit of a chore, and hot up Tawonga. Photo take at the top of Hotham. https://dgtzuqphqg23d.cloudfront.net/pj ... 6x2048.jpg

Late post here as I went on to Canberra and Thredbo after Bright for an extended holiday, and no forum access.

As expected, I started the 200 and after Buffalo felt pretty good and, wanting to stay that way after recent injuries, made a 'strategic withdrawal' back at Bright. My ride buddy carried on (he was 20 minutes ahead of me by then anyway... ) and battled on gamely to the bitter end, He suffered like a dog up Falls from Mt Beauty but after a good break and a feed, and recovering during the descent, paced himself up Tawonga and completed his 200kms.

I was all cleaned up and rested and waiting at the finish to cheer him home. It was a great effort from him as he planned to ride it last year but a serious crash in Dec '15 saw him off the bike completely for the next 7 months. He's not a forumer but a game rider who's only been at it for a few years and shows lots of guts, if lacking a bit in finesse. But that's a pretty big club, especially around the AAC event.

Well done to all the riders at all distances, and Audax for the event again. I may have unfinished business of my own to drag me back again next year.

I did a week of riding up at Bright over the Audax event period, but didn't enter any official event. I rode up Falls on the Sat and my favorite comment was from someone as I passed them - "doesn't count!"

I'm not really in the mood for epic long rides at the moment, but ascended Hotham, Falls (via Tawonga) and Buffalo twice over the week.

Yeah, my plan for next year is to take a week with a mtb and a road bike, sign on to do one of the medium length audax rides (130, 140 or 200) and then make the most of the rest of the week. It does kind of suck doing the big climbs on a big day because you need to hold back a lot in order to survive the distance. I would really love to do a few shorter days with maybe just 1 climb so i can post some competitive times up the 5 local climbs (buffalo, hotham, falls and both tawongas). Also, driving all that way and missing out on the sweet mtb trails sucks....

jules21 wrote:I did a week of riding up at Bright over the Audax event period, but didn't enter any official event. I rode up Falls on the Sat and my favorite comment was from someone as I passed them - "doesn't count!"

I'm not really in the mood for epic long rides at the moment, but ascended Hotham, Falls (via Tawonga) and Buffalo twice over the week.

#humblebrag ...? But yeah, what a great way to spend the week at Bright.

Absolutely. I'd love to spend a whole week riding up there and would do exactly what you did. I've never done the Hotham climb so a plan is to go up next year and ride Hotham early on (Monday or Tuesday say...) then do the AAC200 on the Saturday, with some easier rides in between with my wife.

I gave the 320Km a crack after preparing for essentially 6 months. I did a few of the climbs earlier in the week to get a feel of them, but didn't get the chance to do Hotham or Falls Creek before the actual day (I did Hotham in the car with the family to at least look at it).

On the day I was pretty comfortable. I rode Buffalo at a slightly lower pace than I had earlier in the week, and I was still maybe 7th rider to the Dingo Dell Checkpoint, and after a brief water refill I was off again, so maybe 4th or 5th leaving the checkpoint. I passed a few other riders going back down, because with my heavier weight (than pure lightweights), I descend like a beast. I would have been about 4th rider back through Bright. Two guys peeled off in Bright with people waiting with food/water (I have to do this next year!), and another guy turned off and went up Tawonga Gap (so doing the 200km ride, not the 320km). I am pretty sure that left only 1 rider in front of me going out to Harrietville. I was passed by 1 rider on the way out, as I rode an easy pace, and I stopped briefly for water and a toilet stop just before the Hotham climb.I passed one rider early on at the bottom of the climb, then I was solo again all the way to the water stop, passing a couple of stragglers for the ACE250. Stopping for water again on Hotham, a groups of the Hells 500 guys joined me, and we sort rode as a loose group to the top. I just kept riding with low power because I wanted to save all my effort for the Back of Falls (which would be in the extreme heat).I cruised down to Dinner Plain for some food and Ice Cold Milo and Water, then it was off to Omeo. I was solo the entire way, stopping again at Omeo for more water as it was really heating up, plus had a couple of Frosty Fruits.My legs were feeling fine. At the pace I had done to this point, I could ride all day. I set off for Back of Falls, passing a few more riders on the climb out of Omeo, but just taking it easy in the heat so that I could get to Anglers Rest and refill the water, then pick up the speed for the last big climb of the day (I'd done Tawonga earlier in the week, and I didn't think that would bother me, even after 280km).Anyway, as I was rolling along the road after the climb out of Omeo, I hear a "Ping", then my rear wheel jammed in my frame....I'd lost a spoke on the drive side of my wheel. There was nothing I could do to fix it because it was so far out of true I could not stop it contacting the frame.About 5 minutes I had a course marshal luckily come by, and they were able to get me a lift back to Omeo where I had my wife come and pick me up...an almost 2 hour drive from Bright, then another 2 hours back to Bright.It's not how I wanted my day to end. I trained for the ride for 6 months and was going to finish it easily. I was let down by a $3 spoke (which even if I had the spare with me, could do nothing about. Who carries around a chain whip, lock ring tool and wrench?).

Anyway, the wheel I was using is now with the distributor for warranty repair. The spoke broke at the thread, inside the nipple. I was 200km into the ride at the time It's the first time a single broken spoke has ever ended a ride for me, so I am now looking at wheelsets that don't become useless when you lose one spoke in the middle of nowhere.

The secondary effect of the broken spoke is that it ended my YRR for 2017, because I had not had a chance to knock out a 200km ride earlier in the month. We'll just call that one bad planning on my part, so I'll just have to try again next year for both the YRR and the 320Km Ultra

Damn, that is a disappointing end to your ACE320 and YRR. I discovered a broken spoke on my rear wheel the night before my ACE250, but fortunately I've got 32 and it didn't wobble enough to rub the brakes, so I rode it anyway.

that's terrible luck queequeg. I really feel your pain there. as hamish wrote and you probably know, it's the low count spoke wheels that you can't continue on when a drive-side spoke breaks on the rear. I wouldn't beat yourself up about it though - what are the odds? it may never happen again like that.

I'm planning to go to the "Alpenbrevet" in Switzerland in August. It's another gran fondo type event. The longest route option, the "Platinum Tour", is 276km over 5 mountain passes: 7000m of climbing! Even the Gold tour at 175km is nearly 5300m of climbing. It might be Silver for me.

queequeg wrote:It's not how I wanted my day to end. I trained for the ride for 6 months and was going to finish it easily. I was let down by a $3 spoke (which even if I had the spare with me, could do nothing about. Who carries around a chain whip, lock ring tool and wrench?).

Ouch - I feel your pain on the season goal and the YRR going out the window on a simple mechanical.

queequeg wrote:It's not how I wanted my day to end. I trained for the ride for 6 months and was going to finish it easily. I was let down by a $3 spoke (which even if I had the spare with me, could do nothing about. Who carries around a chain whip, lock ring tool and wrench?).

Ouch - I feel your pain on the season goal and the YRR going out the window on a simple mechanical.

I lost the nipple inside the rim on my wheel, but that would have been easy to fish out. I might have had to use brute force to get the busted spoke out too, but this might have worked.

Anyway, I have been crunching the numbers on more robust wheels for this kind of riding, so while I reckon I was incredibly unlucky, I'm not risking further disappointment. There is no place for low spoke count wheels when a single failure puts you in danger. I have managed to spec up two 24/32 wheelsets that only weigh between 5g and 35g heavier than the 18/24 wheelset that let me down.

jules21 wrote:that's terrible luck queequeg. I really feel your pain there. as hamish wrote and you probably know, it's the low count spoke wheels that you can't continue on when a drive-side spoke breaks on the rear. I wouldn't beat yourself up about it though - what are the odds? it may never happen again like that.

The odds have got to be astronomical. 78kg rider on wheels that are rated to 100kg, but have only done 95 hours total time (2768km over 29 rides), and the wheels have never taken even a slight hit. Plus, the spoke broke whilst cruising at low power on flat terrain.

I have busted plenty of spokes on my commuter bike, but my fix has been sticky tape and minor tweaks of the adjacent spokes. Low spoke wheels must be built on the assumption you have a team car following you.

My wheel is now with the distributor for repair, and I am busy planning my custom wheel build, which at this stage looks like HED Belgium C2+ Rims with DT Swiss Hubs & DT Aerolite Spokes & Brass Nipples. That gives me on paper a 1540g wheelset for 180 Hubs and 1570g for 240s Hubs. I could probably lose 4 spokes from the front wheel without any real issue, but the HED Wheels are 1535g on paper, so I don't see the need to do much else, and I should have a rock solid wheelset that is still ridable with a missing spoke

I suppose the extra weight all adds up (marginal gains/losses?) over250/320kms, but personally I'd happily use heftier, stronger wheels if I was attempting one of those big loop rides where you could end up a loooong way from assistance or a pick-up.

I guess it might depend on whether you're looking at simply completing a ride (definitely me most times) or aiming for a great time or a personal best (done this as well). I also reckon good rolling wheels are more important than lighter weight on longer rides. I've rolled past plenty of riders on lighter wheels that don't seem to roll that well. So I guess quality hubs are important as well.

jules21 wrote:that's terrible luck queequeg. I really feel your pain there. as hamish wrote and you probably know, it's the low count spoke wheels that you can't continue on when a drive-side spoke breaks on the rear. I wouldn't beat yourself up about it though - what are the odds? it may never happen again like that.

The odds have got to be astronomical. 78kg rider on wheels that are rated to 100kg, but have only done 95 hours total time (2768km over 29 rides), and the wheels have never taken even a slight hit. Plus, the spoke broke whilst cruising at low power on flat terrain.

I have busted plenty of spokes on my commuter bike, but my fix has been sticky tape and minor tweaks of the adjacent spokes. Low spoke wheels must be built on the assumption you have a team car following you.

My wheel is now with the distributor for repair, and I am busy planning my custom wheel build, which at this stage looks like HED Belgium C2+ Rims with DT Swiss Hubs & DT Aerolite Spokes & Brass Nipples. That gives me on paper a 1540g wheelset for 180 Hubs and 1570g for 240s Hubs. I could probably lose 4 spokes from the front wheel without any real issue, but the HED Wheels are 1535g on paper, so I don't see the need to do much else, and I should have a rock solid wheelset that is still ridable with a missing spoke

Who's building those up for you?Fwiw I did the 620 start ace250 on zipp404s with 16/20 spokes.Sh 1t can happen whatever you do. I met a bloke at falls whose derailleur hanger broke. He was looking at shortening the chain and finishing s/s.Another year a bloke rolled into omeo with a broken drive side crank arm.

warthog1 wrote:...Sh 1t can happen whatever you do. I met a bloke at falls whose derailleur hanger broke. He was looking at shortening the chain and finishing s/s.Another year a bloke rolled into omeo with a broken drive side crank arm.

Last year while working the last Tawonga Gap water stop as a vollie we 'fixed' a guys rear cassette into a better gear so he could get up the hill and home after the rear cable broke. He'd ridden down from Falls and part way up the Gap in a relatively high gear.

Possibly slightly against the Audax self-sufficiency mantra but he was mighty pleased I had some tools with me. Also fixed loose saddles, dodgy brakes and poorly changing RDs .... some folks just needed a little help to get over that last hill.

jules21 wrote:that's terrible luck queequeg. I really feel your pain there. as hamish wrote and you probably know, it's the low count spoke wheels that you can't continue on when a drive-side spoke breaks on the rear. I wouldn't beat yourself up about it though - what are the odds? it may never happen again like that.

The odds have got to be astronomical. 78kg rider on wheels that are rated to 100kg, but have only done 95 hours total time (2768km over 29 rides), and the wheels have never taken even a slight hit. Plus, the spoke broke whilst cruising at low power on flat terrain.

I have busted plenty of spokes on my commuter bike, but my fix has been sticky tape and minor tweaks of the adjacent spokes. Low spoke wheels must be built on the assumption you have a team car following you.

My wheel is now with the distributor for repair, and I am busy planning my custom wheel build, which at this stage looks like HED Belgium C2+ Rims with DT Swiss Hubs & DT Aerolite Spokes & Brass Nipples. That gives me on paper a 1540g wheelset for 180 Hubs and 1570g for 240s Hubs. I could probably lose 4 spokes from the front wheel without any real issue, but the HED Wheels are 1535g on paper, so I don't see the need to do much else, and I should have a rock solid wheelset that is still ridable with a missing spoke

Who's building those up for you?Fwiw I did the 620 start ace250 on zipp404s with 16/20 spokes.Sh 1t can happen whatever you do. I met a bloke at falls whose derailleur hanger broke. He was looking at shortening the chain and finishing s/s.Another year a bloke rolled into omeo with a broken drive side crank arm.

Be careful because if you have a Zipp 188 hub they have a tendency to shear at the drive side flange.

jules21 wrote:that's terrible luck queequeg. I really feel your pain there. as hamish wrote and you probably know, it's the low count spoke wheels that you can't continue on when a drive-side spoke breaks on the rear. I wouldn't beat yourself up about it though - what are the odds? it may never happen again like that.

The odds have got to be astronomical. 78kg rider on wheels that are rated to 100kg, but have only done 95 hours total time (2768km over 29 rides), and the wheels have never taken even a slight hit. Plus, the spoke broke whilst cruising at low power on flat terrain.

I have busted plenty of spokes on my commuter bike, but my fix has been sticky tape and minor tweaks of the adjacent spokes. Low spoke wheels must be built on the assumption you have a team car following you.

My wheel is now with the distributor for repair, and I am busy planning my custom wheel build, which at this stage looks like HED Belgium C2+ Rims with DT Swiss Hubs & DT Aerolite Spokes & Brass Nipples. That gives me on paper a 1540g wheelset for 180 Hubs and 1570g for 240s Hubs. I could probably lose 4 spokes from the front wheel without any real issue, but the HED Wheels are 1535g on paper, so I don't see the need to do much else, and I should have a rock solid wheelset that is still ridable with a missing spoke

Who's building those up for you?Fwiw I did the 620 start ace250 on zipp404s with 16/20 spokes.Sh 1t can happen whatever you do. I met a bloke at falls whose derailleur hanger broke. He was looking at shortening the chain and finishing s/s.Another year a bloke rolled into omeo with a broken drive side crank arm.

I had a spare hanger in my toolkit at least, plus spare quicklinks for any broken chain issues Spokes, well, I am looking at the fibrefix for Audax stuff now. Yep, spokes can go at any time, it was just rotten luck. It's not something you expect on a wheel that on the whole is still new. Only thing that scares me is it jammed in the frame pretty good. If that happened at high speed it would not have just been an inconvenience, but possibly a trip to hospital. So, that's why I am doing the "Super Stallion" wheelset. I will either build the wheel myself, or outsource the job. I know a couple of guys. For me it is just the time, not the skills. Two young kids and lacing/tensioning wheels is not something that goes together very well.

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